The Family Trade
by Fallen Warrior Angel
Summary: A story about Katherine Krueger. What would happen if she knew who she truly was? And what would the people of Springwood do when a certain Dream Master comes lurking around? Based on the 2010 film with a little Quentin X Katherine
1. The Story

**The Family Trade:**

**A Nightmare on Elm Street Fanfic**

_OK, so I'm sorta tweaking the story of Katherine Krueger to make this interesting. I hope you enjoy it! Based on the 2010 film._

I own none of the rights to _A Nightmare on Elm Street_, although that would be awesome!

Katherine was five years old, she had a great mom and the best dad in the world. Every day he would go with her to school and at recess she would watch him garden; he always used to pass her a flower or two over the fence when none of the teachers were looking. After school, they would walk home, she would tell him about her day in class, and they would have dinner. Katherine never listened to the conversations her mom and dad had, because she didn't understand what they were talking about in the first place.

Whenever her dad would get angry at her mom, he would leave the house for hours, she never knew where he went. She also knew, that when he came home, he acted differently. Although, before he left and when he came home, the first thing he would always do would be to go into her room and give her a kiss on her forehead.

Christmas was her dad's favorite time of year. He had this green and red striped sweater that he would wear to work and wear around the house that always used to make her laugh. She used to tell him he looked like a present. December was also the month that her mom had been murdered; all of the adults suspected her dad, and when they walked to and from school nothing was the same. No one said hello to them anymore, no one was nice her to dad. Then one day, a woman and a man dressed in a suit came to her house, 1428 Elm Street, talked to her dad for a little bit, and then he came upstairs to her room, gave her a big hug and a kiss, then passed her off to the woman with tears in his eyes. She had been sent to live with her aunt and uncle. Her aunt was her mom's sister, and she never liked Katherine's dad.

Three days later, her aunt came in and told her that her dad had died in a fire, she didn't tell Katherine how it had happened or who else was hurt. That was the day, that Katherine Krueger became an orphan.

* * *

_Twelve Years Later_

Katherine sighed, she was sitting in the middle of chemistry class, one of the classes that she hated the most, scribbling in her Language Arts journal. Her curly, blonde hair was pulled back with a small clip and her piercing blue eyes were groggy. She wished that she could just get out of the classroom for a minute, but the teacher didn't trust her. None of the teachers really trusted her, they were just nice to her and liked her because she kept her mouth shut during class and she got straight A's. Her Uncle Harvey was adimant about her getting straight A's, that way she would have an easier time getting into the military next year. Yeah; her uncle was a Captain in the United States Coast Guard, and he wanted her to go into the military, too. He didn't care what branch, he just wanted her in the military. To shut him up, she'd chosen the Navy; her friends Quentin and Nancy were sitting beside her, Quentin on her left and Nancy on her right, each of them sending her text messages that she barely could read because her eyes hurt so much from not getting any sleep. Her Aunt Lillian had been on her case lately about the fifth summer job she'd gotten, she was going to be taking care of the flowers outside of the preschool, and for some reason her aunt didn't want her to. She'd said stick to your jobs at the aquarium, mall, diner, and library. Katherine wanted to take care of the flowers, though; for some reason she loved gardening, she didn't know why.

Quentin kicked her foot, gesturing to her pocket, her phone lighting up. She pulled it out of her pocket and read the text, '_R U alrite?_' she looked at him with a kind smile and nodded, jerking her head towards the teacher who was ranting on and on about useless bullshit. Finally the bell rang, and Katherine picked up her tote and walked out of the classroom in the sea of students, avoiding her teacher. She headed to her locker, opening the door and putting all of the books she didn't need back inside and pulling out the things she needed for work. Quentin walked up behind her and leaned against the lockers, "Kathy what's wrong with you today? You look like you haven't slept in weeks."

Katherine sighed, shutting her locker and banging her head against it, "Because I haven't. Lillian has been up my ass about me gardening for the preschool."

Nancy was confused, "Why? That's probably better pay than any of the other jobs you have."

"Why the Hell do you work five jobs anyway?" Quentin asked, obviously worried for her.

She chuckled, "Because Harvey wants me to be independent; aside from my tuition and car payments I have to pay for everything else. Food I want, gas, clothes, shit like that."

"That sucks," Dean spoke, walking up behind Nancy.

Kris stood beside Dean, "So who's coming to the party tonight?"

Jesse strode up behind Quentin, "Count me in."

"Me too," Dean kissed Kris's cheek.

"Sure," Nancy nodded.

Quentin looked at Katherine, "I'm only going if you do."

Katherine smiled, Quentin was always supportive of her and always wanted to include her in everything. He was sweet, "Sure, why not? What time Kris?"

"Seven o'clock," she smiled, walking away with Dean.

Katherine looked at her two friends, "Need a ride?"

Quentin nodded, "If you'd be so kind."

"Yeah," Nancy smiled, hooking arms with Katherine, who put her other arm around Quentin's shoulders as the three of them walked out to her black Chevy Tahoe, Nancy in the back since she was the closest, Quentin in the passenger's seat and Katherine driving.

Quentin pulled a CD out of his bag, "I mixed this in Computers today, thought you might want to hear your amazing singing voice, Kathy," he put it in and pressed the Play button, music and a girl's voice filling the surround sound speakers.

Katherine gaped as she started driving out of the high school parking lot, "Holy shit is that me?"

Nancy hit her shoulder, "Hell yeah that's you!"

The music continued blasting as Katherine dropped Nancy off, "See you tonight guys!"

Katherine waved, "See ya!"

Quentin smiled, "Don't forget!"

The SUV pulled away, "Forget what?" Katherine asked her friend, looking at him curiously.

Quentin smiled, "Tonight is gonna be your debut I'm blasting your music throughout that entire party."

Katherine looked at him, "Are you crazy?"

He laughed, "I thought I'd get a thank you!"

She stopped in front of his house, "I was getting to that, thank you," she hugged him.

He smiled, hugging her back, "You're welcome."

Katherine smiled in return, "You better get goin' before your dad yells at you and I'm late for job number one."

Quentin nodded, "Right, I'll see you tonight."

She laughed, "OK, I'll pick you up around six thirty."

He looked at her, shutting the car door, "OK, see you then Kathy."

* * *

Katherine shut the front door of her house, 1306 Elm Street, tossing her tote bag next to the kitchen table before heading into the kitchen and pouring herself a glass of iced tea.

"Kathy? Is that you!" her aunt called from upstairs.

The young woman rolled her eyes, "Yes Lillian it's me!" she never called her aunt and uncle Aunt Lillian and Uncle Harvey.

Her uncle came up from the basement dressed in his military coveralls, "What are you doing home, girl? Don't you have work?"

Katherine nodded, "Just came home to get a glass of iced tea and change, Harvey," she picked up her bag and ran up the stairs two at a time, closing and locking her bedroom door behind her. She always spent these five minutes before work alone in her room. She walked over to her closet, opening the door and reaching for a shoebox in the back corner. Katherine had only a small box of memories from her childhood, things she was able to keep hidden from her aunt and uncle. She took off the lid and began looking at the items one by one, like she did every day; a dried flower pressed between the pages of a small book that used to be her mother's, a ring box that had a gold wedding band in it, also her mother's, and the final thing was a pictuer of her when she was five years old, and her father. She loved this photo, it was the only one she had of him that hadn't been destroyed by her aunt and uncle, and for what reason they were destroyed she did not know. Her father's wedding band was on a gold chain around her neck, beneath her shirt so her aunt and uncle didn't see it. She remembered the day that she had been taken away from him, and she blamed Harvey and Lillian for it. They had made all of the teachers in the school put her name down on documents and such as Katherine Killmen, her aunt and uncle's last name, but she would always sign her assignments and tests with her real last name, Krueger. Katherine Krueger. That was why none of the teachers trusted her; they didn't like that she was a Krueger.

Quentin didn't know, Nancy didn't know, none of her friends knew her true last name. She sighed, putting everything back in the box and getting changed for her shift at the aquarium, another hour of feeding fish, at least it paid well. She grabbed her uniform for her shift at the mall and then ran down the stairs, jumping into her car and driving off.

* * *

Feeding fish, hanging clothes, stocking bookshelves, serving food. By the time Katherine was done she didn't even think she was going to make the party, but when she got home, she found Quentin waiting on the back porch steps.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with a smile, hugging him.

He chuckled, "Came to see if you were still coming. I know how tired you get after work."

Katherine smiled, "You really are the best, Quentin," she unlocked the back door and let them both in, "have whatever you want, I'm just gonna jump in the shower and get dressed," she ran up the stairs, closing her bedroom door but forgetting to lock it, taking off her uniform and picking out what she was going to wear to the party, then walked to her bathroom and started the shower, stepping under the warm water, relaxing her tense muscles. Katherine sighed, closing her eyes for just a moment, and almost jumping out of her skin: she saw a man with a terribly burned face, but something about him seemed so familiar. He wore an old, brown fedora, a green and red striped sweater, black pants, and workboots. Her eyes shot open, stepping out of the shower and wrapping one towel around her body, the other around her hair as she opened the door, steam rushing into her bedroom where Quentin sat at her desk, reading some new songs she'd written.

He turned and covered his eyes, "I'm sorry!"

She laughed, "It's not the first time you've seen me in a towel, Quentin."

His smile brought color to his cheeks, "I know," he picked up her journal, "this one's good."

Katherine smirked, taking her hair out of the towel and stepping behind her closet door, "Really?"

Quentin nodded, handing her the articles of clothing on her bed one by one, "Yeah. It's really good, Kathy."

She stepped out from behind the door wearing a pair or black boy shorts and a silver tank top, her curly hair was let down and pushed back with a black and silver headband, "Whataya think?"

He smiled, "Beautiful as ever," he stood, taking her hands in his, "when is anyone gonna know yet?"

Katherine sighed, "Quentin."

"Why can't we tell anyone we're together?" he asked, looking her dead in the eye.

The young woman looked at him, "Because I don't want the teachers giving you a hard time. They don't trust me as it is, imagine what they would say to you!"

Quentin chuckled, "I can take a few teachers not liking me," he took her face in his hands, "I love you, Kathy. Why is that so hard for you to understand?"

"It isn't," she felt his breath on her face, she closed her eyes and smiled, "I love you, too, Quentin."

He sighed, pressing his lips flush against hers in a gentle kiss, "C'mon, let's get you to that party."

Katherine smiled bright, the two of them walking down to her car and driving down to Kris's house.

**AN: Please review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Who I Am

Katherine parked her car in Kris's driveway, Quentin getting out and walking with her around to the back yard where music could be heard blasting for miles.

"Dear God what is this some sort of Armageddon bash?" Katherine asked, almost being trampled by a group of kids rushing into the yard.

Quentin grabbed her arm, "You know Kris, she loves to overdo things. C'mon," the two of them walked out into the large crowd of people, finding Nancy hanging by the back fence, a drink in her hand.

"Hey! I thought you guys were gonna chicken out!" she hugged Katherine.

The young woman smiled, "Nah, just had to wait for Mr. Fashionista here to pick out what shoes to wear," she winked, taking a sip of Nancy's drink.

Quentin gaped, "Hey!"

Nancy laughed, "C'mon, you are dancing with me!" she dragged Katherine out into the sea of teenagers that were dancing to the beat, the two of them swaying their hips and pumping their fists to the music. Dean walked up behind the two girls, beginning to dance with Katherine.

"Yeah, girl!" he wolf-whistled, gulping down another mouthful of alcohol.

Nancy chuckled, leaning closer to Katherine, "I think someone's got a secret admirer."

Katherine laughed, "No thank you!" she looked at Quentin and smiled, winking and beckoning him with her index finger discretely.

The young man walked over to her, "S'cuse me, Dean," he began dancing with Katherine, his hand resting softly on the curve of her hip.

Kris walked over with Jesse, "C'mon guys! Have a drink or two!"

Jesse laughed, "Or four or six!"

Katherine sighed, ignoring them, "Since when do you dance?" she whispered, her hands on his shoulders as they moved to the rhythm of the music.

"Since you called me over here looking all sexy," he husked, a smile on his face.

"OH MY GOD!" someone screamed, pointing up at a kid who was standing on the roof of Kris's house.

Katherine couldn't take her eyes off of the kid, she was staring at him in both horror and intrigue. She watched as he jumped, his limbs flailing around until he hit the ground. The young woman pushed through the crowd, rushing to the lifeless body of the boy, pressing her middle and index finger against his pressure point; no pulse. She then noticed his shirt: for, ragged cuts had been made across his shirt, as if by a razor. Then she remembered the man she'd seen, his right hand. But that had been a dream!

* * *

The eniter backyard was filled with police uniforms in an instant, Katherine, Quentin, Nancy, Dean, Kris, and Jesse were all standing together after being asked questions by the cops. Katherine noticed that her Uncle was walking over, she rolled her eyes, "Oh shit."

"Katherine Killmen!"

She'd had just about enough of _that_, "Harvey will you STOP? My last name isn't Killmen! It's Krueger! Katherine Krueger!"

What Katherine hadn't realized was that she had screamed that at the top of her lungs, and every set of eyes were on her, especially the parents and the cops. Had they heard right? Katherine _Krueger_? Was she the daughter of that disgusting pig they'd killed twelve years ago?

Harvey looked at her in shock, "Sweetheart, where did you get something like that from? Your last name is Killmen."

"No! Harvey, it isn't! It's Krueger!" she ran away from the group, jumped into her truck and drove off. When she got home, she slammed the front door behind her, ignoring her aunt's screams, ran up the steps two at a time, and locked her bedroom door behind her. Rushing to her closet, she searched for her shoebox, only to find that it wasn't there: now her blood was boiling. Katherine opened her bedroom door and practically jumped down the stairs, rushing into the kitchen to find her aunt sitting at the kitchen table with _her_ shoebox. She clenched her teeth in anger, "Give it back."

Her aunt was looking at another picture Katherine had forgotten was in there: it was a picture of her mom and dad on their wedding day. Katherine could see her aunt was crying, but she wanted her personal things back, "Lillian give it back."

The elderly woman looked at her niece, shock in her eyes, "How could you?"

"How could I what?"

"Keep pictures of that...monster?"

That did it; Katherine lunged for the shoebox, ripping the photo out of her hand only to hear the soft _riiip_ of the paper. The young teenager noticed she had only gotten half of the photo, the half with her dad in the picture. She saw her aunt looking down at the other half, tears in her eyes, "Your mother was so happy the day she married him. And look what happened."

Katherine didn't understand, "What are you talking about?" she put her half of the photo in her shoebox and quickly tucked her father's wedding band under her shirt when she heard the front door slam.

"Katherine!" her uncle fumed, striding into the kitchen and forcing her to turn around, "What the Hell were you thinking? HUH!" he smacked the back of his hand across her face, sending her flying into the kitchen counter.

"Harvey!" Lillian gasped, standing in shock.

"Be quiet, woman!" the man growled.

Katherine clutched the side of her face, searing with pain but also overflowing with fury. She stood, walked over to her uncle, her left eye teary from being hit, "If you hated my father, why keep me?"

Harvey towered over her, his dark eyes glaring at her, "If it weren't for you being my sister-in-law's daughter, I wouldn't have."

She nodded in understanding, pushing past him and walking up the stairs, her shoebox tucked under her arm as she quietly closed her bedroom door and locked it. Putting the shoebox on her bed she took off her clothes, putting on a pair of tennis shorts and a tank top, pulling her hair back into a braid, and curling up underneath the comforter. Her hand reached into the box, pulling out the first thing she could find in the jumbled mess: her mother's wedding band was gone, probably taken by Lillian like she knew it would be. The next thing she pulled out was her mother's book, the flower still pressed between the pages, then was the photo of her dad and her, slightly bent, and finally she pulled out the now torn picture of her dad. He was handsome: high cheek bones, full, brown hair, percing blue eyes like hers. He wasn't very tall, but he was tone, and he always had a smile on his face. He was dressed in his tuxedo, the white rose on his lapel stood out, and she couldn't help the one tear that rolled down her cheek, "I miss you, dad."

Her eyes drifted to her alarm clock, 13:45 AM. She sighed, changing it from the ridiculous military time to regular 1:45 AM. She then curled up against her pillow, sleep overtaking her as her eyelids closed, the picture of her and her dad still in her hand.

* * *

She looked around, suddenly in a boiler room corridor, hot steam shooting out at her. Katherine was confused, what kind of dream was she having? Suddenly she covered her ears, the loud screech of metal on metal too much for her to bear. She turned around, not seeing anyone behind her she began to walk slowly, unsure of what was going on. The sound of steel whirring like a machine filled her ears, she felt hot breath on the back of her neck, and a hand grabbed her arm. Katherine let out a scream as she turned around, coming face-to-face with the horribly disfigured man she'd seen the night before, his dusty, brown fedora covered most of his face, and the green and red striped sweater was dusted with soot. Then she noticed something: piercing blue eyes that were a mirror image of her own. Katherine almost fell back against the scorching pipes, his hand still grasping her arm, "D-Dad?"

* * *

Freddy thought that he was dreaming himself: his daughter was in _his_ dream world! She'd changed so much from being five years old, her hair was curlier, longer, darker. She had his eyes and facial features, and she had been cursed with his lack of height. He held onto her arm, not answering her when she'd said 'Dad', but merely looking her over, amazed by her. Finally he spoke, "Kathy?" his voice low and rough.

Katherine stared at him incredulously, "W-What happened to you?"

His chuckle came out raspy, "No one ever told you did they? What really happened to me?"

She shook her head, "Dad I...was it you who killed that boy tonight?"

Freddy knew he couldn't hide anything from her, he never could. With a slight nod he let go of her arm, "I'll explain to you why."

Katherine looked at him, half of her body screaming to run and wake up, the other half so overjoyed that she was talking to her father, well, aside from his ghastly appearance, that she didn't want to leave.

"When you were five, Kathy, there were these accusations that I was the murderer known as the Springwood Slasher. They also accused me of being a child molester. They did this without any proof," he looked at her, making sure she was listening, which of course, she was. "They also accused me of murdering your mother. I loved you and your mother more than anything in the world, I would've never hurt either of you, but they didn't believe that so they took matters into their own hands. They chased me down, and burned me alive."

Freddy saw the tears in his daughter's eyes, "Kathy...I don't know what your aunt and uncle have been telling you, but I was the victim of a shameless murder."

Katherine stared at him, "Who's _they_ dad?"

He looked at her, "The parents of Springwood...and your aunt and uncle."

She couldn't believe her eyes, "W-What?"

Freddy sighed, "Kathy," he stepped foward, checking to see if she was moving away.

Katherine didn't move away, however she did move, but closer to him, "Dad...I wanna help you."

He shook his head, "I've got it under control."

She shook her head, "Whether you like it or not I'm involved now; Harvey and Lillian hate me, and now I'm sure that all of the parents of Springwood are telling their kids the story of how they burned you alive and how being your daughter I'm not to be trusted. I want them to pay for what they did to you, dad...I want them to suffer."

Freddy couldn't believe the words coming out of his daughter's mouth, but from the look in her eyes he could tell she was serious..._dead_ serious. Then he noticed the left side of her face, it was bruised, his eyes burned with anger, "Who did that to you?"

She looked at him, his anger was shocking, "Harvey."

"The fucker's gonna pay!" he snarled.

Katherine shook her head, "I'll deal with him! Like I said, I want the people who did this to you to suffer."

He nodded lightly, "They will, but now you have to wake up and go to school," he placed his hat on her head, just as he'd done so many years ago after he'd come home from work, "I'll see you tonight, Kathy."

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!_

Katherine's eyes burst open, locking on the clock that now read 6:45 AM, she slammed her hand down on the clock, suddenly realizing that her pillow didn't feel normal; reaching to find what was wrong, she felt her dad's fedora. A smile curled across her lips, she _would_ help him one way or another. Katherine got out of bed, walking to her closet and pulling out a pair of black skinny jeans, a red tank top, a black biker's jacket and a pair of black biker boots. She put her clothes on, unbraiding her hair and letting it hang loosely, placing her dad's hat atop her head, tipping it over her eyes as she walked downstairs. Harvey was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper as ususal, while Lillian was making pancakes.

"Katherine, do you want some..." _crash_! The sound of glass hitting the hardwood floor filled the room, "HARVEY!"

The elderly man looked at her, "What is it?"

Lillian pointed at Katherine, "Where did you get _that_?"

Katherine ignored her, walking to the cabinet and getting a glass, then walking to the refridgerator and filling it with orange juice.

Harvey glared at her, "Where did you get the hat, Katherine?"

She looked at him, staring daggers in his direction, "It's mine."

"Where did you get the hat?" he snapped, raising his hand to her, swinging it at her.

Katherine grabbed his wrist, twisting it around until he yelled in pain, "It's. Mine," she let him go and walked out of the kitchen, grabbing her tote and car keys before slamming the front door behind her, hopping into her SUV and driving to school.

* * *

Katherine walked through the main hallway of the high school, the kids whispers filled her ears.

_My parents said her dad was a psycho; said he used to kill kids!_

_My mom said her father was a child molester, used to torture them with some sort of razor glove._

_If her dad was that crazy you think she is?_

There was nothing they said that phased her, until she heard a group of baseball jocks start chanting something, "Granddaughter of a hundred maniacs! Granddaughter of a hundred maniacs!"

Katherine froze in front of her locker, a hand on her shoulder causing her to turn around, "Quentin!"

He stared at her, "Why didn't you tell me that your last name wasn't Killmen?"

She sighed, "I wanted to...but I didn't want _this_ to happen."

"Well it's happened," he stated, looking at the hat, "where'd you get that?"

Katherine looked at his horrified eyes, "It's my dad's. I've had it for a long time," she lied.

He nodded, "OK," he kissed her cheek, "and ignore the jocks."

The baseball team captain walked over and slammed his hand on Katherine's locker, "Hey Krueger bitch," he whispered, pushing her against the lockers and gripping her hips with his hands, pinning her there, "you as crazy as your daddy? Or are you just...fiesty?" he licked his lips, looking down at her disgustingly.

She glared up at him from beneath her dad's fedora, "Get, the fuck, off of me," she shoved him away and stalked down the hall, Quentin close behind.

"You and your boyfriend better figure out what you're gonna do! You're a psycho, Krueger! Just like your dad!" the jock screamed down the hallway just as the bell rang.

Katherine practically rushed into her classroom, sitting down in her seat and putting her books on the desk, keeping her dad's hat tipped low over her anger-filled eyes. Quentin sat next to her, quickly whispering, "Maybe you should try to get out sick."

She shook her head, "I'll be fine," she stared at the teacher from beneath the brim of her hat, the teacher staring back at her warily.

"Ms. Killmen, there are no hats allowed inside the school, you know that," the teacher said, looking at the girl as if she were demented.

Katherine looked at her still, "I'd prefer to keep it on, Mrs. Freedman, and it's Krueger."

The teacher seemed to shudder at the mention of the last name, but she just shrugged it off and continued with the lesson, which went on pretty boring, until Katherine felt something hit her foot. She looked down to see a paper wad; she picked it up and opened it to find scribbled handwriting: _One, two, Daddy's comin' for you. Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six, grab your crucifix. Seven, eight, better stay up late. Nine, ten, never sleep again. Go dream about your fucked-up father, Krueger. _Katherine looked around to see where it had come from, and she knew it had been from the baseball jock that had been taunting her earlier. The bell finally rang, signaling the end of that class, after which Katherine shot out of her seat and sped out of the classroom and down to the girl's bathroom: she felt sick, sick with anger. After splashing some water on her face, she replaced her dad's hat on her head and walked out of the bathroom. Luckily, the rest of the day went by quickly, and thanks to Quentin she seemed to have forgotten all about what had happened.

The two of them were lying in the trunk of her SUV, the cool air sending a breeze through the thick comforter over them. Quentin looked at her, "Kathy...if I were to say I wanted to leave Springwood, would you come with me?"

Kahterine stared up at him in shock, "Quentin, you want to leave Springwood? Why?"

"Because I fuckin' hate this place! I hate what they're doing to you! I hate what my dad keeps saying about you!" he snapped, taking her shoulders in his hands, "I love you, Katherine! I don't care what your last name is or what this town thinks of you and your dad but I love you! And nothing is going to change that! Now I wanna know if you'd come with me or not and leave Springwood!"

The young woman couldn't believe what she was hearing: Quentin wanted to skip town, leave Springwood forever, all because of what some kids were saying about her and her dad. She smiled, "Quentin, as long as I'm with you, I don't care where we go."

* * *

After Katherine dropped Quentin back off at his house, she decided to go for a drive; anything to get away from her house. Driving along the winding roads she stopped short, pulling over to the side of the road. She turned off the ignition and sat there, her eyes filled with tears of anger: everything that had happened had just been too much, from the granddaughter of a hundred maniacs to the jump rope chant it had been too much. All of those things had been directed at her because of who she was; she loved her dad even though he did the things he did, and she'd made up her mind about helping him. Suddenly, a set of headlights behind her caught her attention, making her get out of the SUV and stand in the middle of the street: she knew _that_ car. The group of baseball jocks that had been torturing her earlier got out of the sports car, mischevious grins on their faces.

"Ah, so Krueger decided to take a little joyride did she?" the leader of the group smirked.

Katherine grimaced, her dad's fedora once more tipped over her teary eyes, "Get lost, assholes."

One of the other jocks chuckled, "Now c'mon we want you to sing for us! We know you've got quite the singing voice," he swung the back of his hand across her face, smacking her to the asphalt, "Sing _bitch_!"

She coughed, blood covering her face from scraping the cement ground, "One, two, Freddy's comin' for you."

The jocks laughed hysterically, a different one kicking her in the ribs, "More!"

Katherine gasped for breath, her dad's hat on the ground next to her, "Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six, grab your crucifix."

The leader bent down and too her head in his hands, bashing it against the bumper of her SUV, bringing his lips down to her bloody ear, "Finish it you whore."

She looked up at them dazed, blood slowly dripping down the side of her skull, "Seven...eight, better...stay up late," Katherine collapsed against the cold ground, "nine, ten...never sleep...again."

The group of jocks laughed even louder, "Go join your psycho dad in Hell," the captain of the team got into her SUV and backed it up over her; and just like that, Katherine Krueger was dead.

**AN: I'm sorry I took so long I was on vacation for the week with no laptop allowed :( but I'm back and all is well! Please review and tell me what you think I wrote this chapter on my iPod Touch while on the plane so I wasn't really paying attention to what I wrote until I got home! Thank you!**


	3. The Last Thing You See

_Hey It's Katherine, sorry I can't get to the phone right now but leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks! Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep._

Quentin sighed, "Kathy it's me again, call me back please," he shut his phone after calling her for the thirteenth time; this wasn't like her to not answer him. He knew she'd had a bad day with all of the taunting and jeering going around the school, but he knew that even if she was really upset she'd answer him. Nancy hadn't been having any luck either in getting Katherine to answer texts _or_ phone calls, which was starting to worry the pair: then they saw flashing red and blue radio car lights. They drove around the orange traffic cones to see that the area was taped off, and the sighed made Quentin go pale: there behind the tape, was Katherine's SUV, blood covered the back bumper and the road beside it; a pool of blood was marked off just beneath the SUV itself. Quentin and Nancy got out of his car and walked over to the nearest cop, "What happened here?" Nancy demanded.

The cop looked at him, "Are you Quentin Smith and Nancy Holbrook?"

Quentin nodded, "Yeah but what the Hell's going on? That's my girlfriend's SUV!"

The officer shook his head, "I'm sorry but neither of you can be here."

Nancy didn't budge, "Where's Kathy?"

"Quentin!" Lillian ran over to the two teenagers, tears filled her eyes.

"Mrs. Killmen what happened?" Quentin asked pleadingly.

The woman choked on a sob, "S-Some-o-one kil-killed Katherine!" she bawled, her face falling into her hands.

Neither Quentin nor Nancy could speak: Katherine was dead? It couldn't be true...then they saw around the many doctors and police officers to see Katherine, sprawled out on the asphalt and covered in her own blood. Tire treads ran over her neck and back, the sight made Nancy sick to her stomach and made Quentin collapse in horror.

"No! KATHY!" the teenager tried to get past the barrier but a police officer grabbed him.

"Son, stay back!" he struggled, holding to sobbing teenager.

"Kathy! Let go! Let go of me! Kathy, no!" Quentin fought against the grip of the cop, but in the end he surrendered tears pouring down his cheeks.

Nancy ran over to him, "Quentin c'mon, let's go before something else happens," the two of them walked back to his car, Nancy driving this time even though she felt like she could bash in a window.

* * *

Katherine looked around, finding herself in the boiler room once more, "Dad?"

"Kathy," he said softly, stepping out of the shadows.

She looked herself over, she was wearing the same clothes she'd been wearing before, his had on her head, "Dad...am I asleep?"

He looked at her, a mixture of sadness and fury in his piercing eyes, "Kathy...those asshole baseball jocks...they murdered you, sweetheart."

Katherine's eyes grew wide: she was dead? "N-No, that's not possible!"

"They killed you, Kathy, and they're gonna pay," her growled, the anger in his eyes wasa burning.

"Dad," she placed a hand in his shoulder, "I'm helping you. I want revenge on those sad fucks that did this to you."

Freddy sighed, "Sweetie you have so much to learn about this."

Her eyebrow arched in surprise, "Killing people in their sleep? It's that hard?"

He chuckled, "It can be, but I'll teach you everything you need to know, the rest is just skill and creativity."

She huffed, "And I thought being dead meant I didn't have to learn anything anymore."

"You're not really dead, Kathy. You can't die in dreams or out of them."

"Out of them? You're saying I can be pulled out of that person's dream," Katherine was confused.

Freddy nodded, "I'll explain later, sweetie," he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, the two of them walking down the boiler room hallway.

* * *

Quentin sat with the small group of people at Katherine's funeral, his eyes looking over each of the pictures one by one: he couldn't grasp the fact that she was really gone. He knew that it had to be that person killing all of these kids...it just had to be. He swore to himself, that he was gonna find this guy, and kill the fucker.

"Quentin," Nancy spoke, notifying him that they were the only two left by the closed coffin, "let's go. It's not good to stay here."

He stared at Katherine's coffin, "The asshole who did this is gonna pay."

Nancy put her hand on his shoulder, "You can't do anything that'll bring her back, Quentin."

"I know," Quentin snapped, tears running down his face once more, "I just...I wish I was there to protect her. She'd just dropped me off at my house."

"It's not your fault, Quentin," Nancy hugged him, "she's in a better place now...really."

"Nancy!" her mother called solemnly, "C'mon let's go."

The two teenagers exchanged a glance: they were gonna find out who did this to their best friend.

* * *

Katherine had listened to her dad explain to her about dream stalking for what felt like forever, but she'd absorbed it quickly and in no time she was having no problem entering someone's dreams. Freddy watched her in awe, how he'd missed her over the past twelve years, but now he had her forever, and no one could take her away from him ever again.

"Kathy why don't we stop for now?" he suggested, taking off his hat and placing it on the dusty mattress that was in the room with them.

The young girl looked at him, her eyes bright beneath the hat he'd given her, "Alright," she walked over and sat down next to him, taking off her hat and putting it next to his, "dad...I wanna get those assholes who killed me."

He nodded, "We will sweetheart, don't worry. We'll give them a nightmare they won't forget."

She sighed, resting back against the mattress, "Dad...do you remember anything about what we had before...this?"

Freddy looked at her, realzing now what had just hit her: she was dead, and she couldn't go back to anyone that she knew in life, "Sweetheart, I remember every detail...but in time you'll learn to let go."

Katherine looked at him, remembering Quentin and Nancy made her eyes tear, but then she remembered something: she still had his wedding band around her neck and the pictures in her pocket. She hoped that they were still there as she reached around her neck she felt the gold chain and smiled, "Dad...I have something of yours."

Symmetrical pairs of eyes locked with one another as Katherine took off the chain bearing his wedding band, putting it in his hand, "That's yours," she pulled the two pictures out of her pocket and showed them to him.

Freddy looked at the items in shock, "How long have you had these?"

She smiled, "Since the day the police searched 1428 Elm Street...I was allowed to take some stuff, and I took your wedding band, along with mom's, which Lillian now has. I also took one of mom's poetry books and the flower that you gave me when I graduated kindergarten, and these pictures." She showed him the one of the two of them when she was five, and she thought she actually saw tears in his eyes, "And this was my favorite of you and mom...now I just have the half with you in it because Lillian tore it," she handed him the torn picture of him on his wedding day, and now she knew there were tears in his eyes. "Dad?"

The man looked at his daughter, seeing the tears in her eyes as well made his heart ache, "Sweetie...I never meant for any of this to happen to you."

Katherine wrapped her arms around his torso, "Dad..." she couldn't say anything else, she'd wanted to have him in her life for so long, and to think that all this time he was trapped in this limbo between Hell and Earth made her stomach churn with sadness.

Freddy sighed, kissing the crown of her head lightly, "You know, this picture of us was taken the day that you got your first dentist check-up?"

She chuckled, looking at him, "Really?"

He nodded, "Yeah, your mom was so excited that you were actually patient for the dentist that she took the picture, and afterward being the troublemaker that I was when I was with you, I took you for ice cream when you weren't supposed to eat anything for a half hour."

Katherine laughed with him, "We were always getting into trouble with mom."

"That we were, princess," he smiled, "and we still are getting into trouble."

She nodded, "The family trade."

Freddy chuckled, "Nightmares are a genetic thing," he teased, taking off his glove and handing it to her, "try it on."

Katherine looked at him, "D-Dad."

"Go on it won't bite," he smiled.

Katherine nodded, being dominantly left-handed it was odd to have the instrument on her right, but once she put the glove on it felt...normal. She pressed the knives against the wall, dragging them along to create that infamous _screeeeeech_ that she'd heard him create so many times, "It feels, good."

Freddy chuckled, "You need to figure out how you're gonna kill these sons of bitches."

She handed him his glove back and smirked, "Already covered," she pulled a sharp military knife from her boot, "the only good thing Harvey ever did was sign me up for military training in the summertime."

The two of them laughed, this was going to be a night no one would forget.

* * *

Jarrod Everson, captain of the Springwood baseball team, sat on his bed, shirt off and beads of sweat rolling down his back. He'd just got done with the fuck of his life, his girlfriend lying in bed asleep next to him, their clothes scattered all around the room. He was still energized from killing that little Krueger bitch, and he wished she were alive so he could kill her again. Her father was sick, and so was she, she was the weirdest girl in the entire school, and he was glad to be rid of her. Jarrod sighed, crawling into bed beside his girlfriend and falling asleep quickly, only to find himself in a boiler room, hot steam shooting out at him and a screeching sound filling his ears.

"AH! What the fuck?" he yelled, covering his ears.

Freddy sneered at him, "So...you're the little fuck who killed my daughter?"

Jarrod looked behind him to see no one there, "Wh-Who are you!"

"Her psycho dad!" the Dream Master shouted, anger overtaking him.

Katherine smirked, dragging her knife along one of the boiler room pipes, the screeching sound much louder than her dad's.

"AAAH! AAH, STOP!" Jarrod screamed.

"Not yet," she barked, disappearing quickly in front of him before reappearing behind him and stabbing him in the back continuously, forcing him to his knees. Katherine grabbed a fistful of his hair, "Look at me you motherfucker!"

The baseball captain looked up at her in fear and shock, "I-I-I killed you!"

Katherine growled, "That's right you fuckin' killed me! And I wanted you to look me dead in the eyes, because they're the last thing you're gonna see," she watched his green eyes lock with hers, and as quick as light, she ran the knife across his throat, blood spilling from the wound like water. She sighed after he was dead, a smile on her face.

Freddy clapped, "Bravo, sweetheart, bravo," he hugged her close, "ya did good, Kathy."


	4. Killing Spree

Quentin and Nancy had heard the news about Jarrod's death, he'd killed himself by slitting his throat. Then the other night Dean had killed himself by doing the same thing...right in front of Kris. It was horrifying, and Quentin was on edge enough as it was: he'd been having dreams about Katherine, but they weren't normal dreams, they were so realistic. She was dressed in the clothes she'd worn to scool, hat and all, but she was holding the military knife her uncle had given her, the blade covered in blood. He couldn't forget the last thing she'd said to him last night, she'd said I love you still...even in death she still loved him? It confused him, but it was only a dream.

Nancy had been having dreams about Katherine, too, but not just Katherine alone. She'd seen a man, horribly burned and disfigured, wearing an exact hat like Katherine wore, but he'd said nothing, only stood behind Katherine while she spoke. Nancy had felt like the dream was actually real, Katherine had touched her arm and Nancy had _felt_ it. She'd said, I'm making this right, what'd she meant? Was she trying to tell Nancy who'd killed her? Then the news had come on in their art classroom.

"_Good morning. Breaking news on the Katherine Killmen murder: forensic investigators have discovered that she had been brutally murdered by more than one person, and they found fingerprints on the steering wheel of her SUV belonging to one Jarrod Everson, captain and star of Springwood High School's baseball team, the same high school that Katherine attended. Jarrod was found dead last night in his own home, having committed suicide. Officers are apprehending the rest of the team for interrogation, we'll have more news on the case throughout the investigation. In other news, citizens of the Springwood town mourn yet another brutal suicide by one Dean Russell, another student of Springwood High. His funeral will be tomorrow afternoon, condolences go out to his family, and girlfriend, Kris Fowles. Now here's Anna with your daily weather._"

The teacher shut off the television after that, not wanting anyone to lose focus on their artwork, but Quentin and Nancy were already distracted: Jarrod had killed Katherine, and now Jarrod was dead? Something was really odd about that. They both heard footfalls outside of the classroom, and they saw through the small window, one by one the members of the baseball team being carted out of the school in handcuffs.

* * *

Katherine had spent the entire night entering the dreams of both Quentin and Nancy, she'd wanted to talk to them one last time; she'd wanted to tell them what had happened. Her dad had given her a little time alone to enter Quentin's dream, but oddly he followed her into Nancy's. She'd told Quentin she still loved him, and she always would, he'd woken up before she had been able to say anything else. Katherine had then tried to tell Nancy who'd killed her, but her friend was so startled when she'd touched her arm that Nancy woke up right away before she could tell her. She'd been alright with her dad killing people she barely knew, but that night he'd killed one of her friends: he'd killed Dean.

Freddy got back to find Katherine sitting on the bed, her head in her hands and her shoulders shaking, "Sweetheart, what's the matter?" he reached out to put his hand on her shoulder.

Katherine did not cringe away, nor did she look at him, "Y-Y-You killed Dean!"

He looked at her, a surprised look on his face, "You knew him?"

She nodded, "He was a good friend of mine!"

Freddy couldn't say anything: he had his own personal vendetta to deal with, but now he knew he was gonna have trouble because some of these kids were his daughter's friends, "Sweetheart...I-I didn't know."

Katherine looked at him, her eyes red, but otherwise emotionless, "Why are you killing the kids of Springwood?"

He sighed, "When I told you the parents of the Badham Preschool kids accused me of touching their children, well their children attested to it and claimed that I had. Being five they'd say anything, so they practically caused this," he gestured to his face.

"So you're getting your revenge on the parents by killing the kids?" she questioned, wiping her eyes.

Freddy nodded, "Yes."

Katherine said nothing afterward, merely nodding and lying down on the bed, _I just hope you don't hurt Quentin and Nancy_.

He watched her lay down, her eyes closing ever-so slightly, he felt a slight twinge of guilt; she wasn't mad at him, nor was she alright with what she'd done, but something inside him knew it was wrong not to ask her who she knew before he killed anyone. Their vendetta's for murdering these children were not that different, but he knew that she had a direct reason to kill the baseball team, he however, was killing the kids in order to cause the parents anguish. They had taken his daughter from him the night they burned him alive, and he was taking their children from them now. Freddy sat down on the bed beside her, placing his hand on her back and rubbing gently, "I love you, sweetheart."

She mumbled, "I love you too, dad."

* * *

Patrick and Ronnie Winston, pitcher and first baseman of the Springwood baseball team were running through the halls of the boiler room, running from the girl they'd help kill and some burned-up psycho. Patrick had turned a corner, splitting him up from his brother.

Katherine laughed, following him slowly, "Come on Patrick I'm not gonna bite," she sped around in front of him, slicing her knife across his chest, knocking him against the burning pipes.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" he yelled, the scorching metal blistering his skin.

She grabbed his shirt, pressing her knife against his throat, "Why the fuck do you think I'm doing this? Huh?"

He shook his head fervently, "I-I swear! We didn't know Jarrod was gonna kill you!"

"Too late for excuses!" she stabbed the knife into his gut, not once, not twice, but seven times.

Freddy watched her, "Kathy, the other one."

Her piercing blue eyes looked up at him, filled with rage, "I'll take care of him," she disappeared quickly, and in no time had Ronnie lost in the labryinth of pipelines.

"WHERE ARE YOU?" he screamed, his entire body shaking with fear, "WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!"

She smirked, the tip of her blade stopping at his back, "Here," she jabbed it into his spine, the boy falling to the ground in an instant.

His daughter made him proud, the fact that she was able to take after him so much plastered a smirk on his face, "C'mon kiddo, let's go."

Katherine smiled at him, "her" hat tipped over her eyes so only the evil smirk on her face was visible, "Coming dad."

* * *

The entire Springwood High baseball team was dropping like flies: one by one they were committing suicide. Quentin found it weird, if Jarrod had killed Katherine, why were they killing themselves? His mind was consumed with too much sorrow to worry about them, however. Kris had been killed that night, and the police were blaming it on Jesse, who had ran to Nancy's house covered in Kris's blood, screaming that he hadn't done it. Quentin couldn't sleep himself, he kept having these vivid nightmares of a man wearing a green and red striped sweater, a brown fedora, and his face terribly burned. Something was familiar about him, but the hat was what made him really sick: it was the same hat that Katherine had said was hers. The teenager sat on the edge of his bed, swallowing yeet two more pills to help keep him awake, the amount of sugar in his system was giving him a headache, but it was keeping him awake and that's all that mattered to him at the moment. He felt his pocket vibrate, pulling out his phone to check who it was, "Nancy?"

Her voice was sobs on the other line, "_Q-Quentin_!"

"What's wrong? Nancy!" he pleaded, wanting to know why she was crying.

"_I-It's Jesse. He's-He's..._" she broke off into more sobs.

"Nancy what happened to Jesse?" Quentin practically screamed.

"_JESSE'S DEAD!_" she sobbed, "_He was killed in his jail cell...in his sleep!_"

Quentin couldn't believe his ears: all three of his friends, Dean, Kris, and Jesse, were dead. All killed in their sleep, or sucicide...but one thing was for sure: the man in his nightmares had something to do with it, and maybe he had something to do with the baseball team murders as well.

"Nancy stay there, I'm coming over," he hung up and ran out of the house, getting into his car and driving to Nancy's.

**AN: OK so I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been trying to get ideas for future chapters :). Anyway, please review and tell me what you think! The more you review the faster I update!**


	5. Belief

Nancy sat up on her bed, her charcoal-stained hands were shaking, in fact her entire body was shaking. She had fallen asleep for what felt like a minute, but in that minute she had seen something terrible, a realization that she wished she'd never known. She had been walking down that boiler room hallway, unknown to her what was going on, she'd found a door, slightly ajar, dim light pouring through the crack. Nancy walked toward it, hearing two voices, one more familiar than the next: one was Katherine, she'd known that, the other was the rough voice of the man from her nightmares.

"They're getting suspicious, Kathy, they're pokin' around," the man had stated firmly.

"Just be patient, they'll stop once they figure out these nightmares are too much for them," Katherine pleaded.

Nancy peered through the crack, seeing the two of them sitting on a tattered bed, her eyes wide when she noticed two similarities: their hats were identical, and their eyes; that piercing, ice-cold blue, were the exact same. She breathed slowly, maybe it was just a coincidence.

"I don't have to be patient, Kathy," he growled, "you've almost got your vengance."

"Nowhere near it," she growled back, "I still have to deal with Harvey and Lillian...then the people that hurt you."

He had then put his hand on her shoulder, "I told you, I'm taking care of that."

She sighed, "You still don't get it, do you? You're my dad, and I'm going to help you."

The teenage girl felt her heart stop: dad? That man, that disfigured _monster_, was Katherine's dad! That meant it was Freddy Krueger...and he was the one killing her friends, while Katherine must've been the one killing the baseball team.

Freddy had suddenly stiffened at that moment, "Someone's here," the two sets of eyes flashed to the door, and that's when Nancy had woken up.

She heard a car pull into the driveway, she knew it was Quentin. Quickly she got up, splashing some water in her face before walking downstairs and opening the door, "Quentin."

He looked at her, tears in his eyes, "Nancy."

The two immediatley embraced, "I can't believe Jesse's dead," he whispered.

Nancy sighed, she didn't want to break Quentin's heart any more, but he had to know the truth: he deserved to know the truth, "Quentin...I have something to tell you."

Quentin let go to look at her, "What is it?"

She took his hand, "Let's go upstairs before I tell you anything else," she walked up the steps, Quentin close behind, obviously worried about what she was going to tell him.

The two of them sat down on her bed, "Quentin...remember how Katherine always used to talk about her dad, and how much she missed him?"

He nodded, "Yeah, she used to talk to me about him all the time. She even showed me pictures."

Nancy looked at him, "Do you remember what he looked like?"

"Sure: brown hair, kinda short, high cheek bones, and piercing blue eyes like Kathy's...why?"

She closed her eyes, "The guy in our dreams...Freddy...he has the same exact eyes as Kathy."

Quentin was confused, "Nancy, w-what are you tryin' to say?"

Nancy shook her head, "Quentin...Freddy's full name is Freddy Krueger. He's Katherine's dad...and he's the one who killed Dean, Kris, and Jesse...and Kathy's killing the baseball team."

* * *

Katherine had seen Nancy looking through the door, and her heart had stopped: what was she going to think? What was she going to tell Quentin? She couldn't think, the entire room was spinning; her dad's hand was on her back, he was obviously concerned.

"Kathy? What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked fervently, he'd seen his victims do this before they passed out, and he was sure that's what she was about to do.

She shook her head, "Th-That was Nancy...she saw us."

Freddy was confused, "Why does that make you worried?"

"Because now she knows you're my dad," she said, almost gagging at the fact that Quentin would hate her. He was the only person aside from her dad that had truly loved her, and now the fact that she was 'dead' he was devestated, but now he would be even worse: he would never want to even look at her in his dreams ever again.

"Kathy?" he asked, now very concerned, "Sweetheart talk to me."

She stood, "I need to go kill someone," pulling her dagger out of her boot she strode out the door, entering the dreams of Springwood High baseball pitcher, Mitchell Dresden.

Mitchell had been dreaming about winning the World Series, when all of a sudden the playing field turned barren and dead, a low chuckle coming from behind him; it was a girl's voice.

"Hello? Who's there?" he asked, very confused and very frightened.

Katherine smirked, "Hello Mitchell, miss me?" he'd been the one to kick her in the ribs, and that was the one kick that had made her helpless against the rest of Jarrod's attacks.

He spun around, his eyes growing wide, "Oh...SHIT!" he began running off the field.

She shook her head, when would they learn? She disappeared, reappearing in front of him in the dugout, locking the door behind him, "That's not gonna work here, Mitchie," she jumped at him, tackling him to the ground and choking him.

"P-Please," he gagged, air closing off from his lungs.

Katherine's eyes burned with anger and sorrow, "Please what? You didn't give me a choice, why should I give you one?" she stabbed her knife into his neck, blood spurting out at her, streaking her pale face with crimson. After she was sure he was dead Katherine stood, removing herself from his dream and walking back into the room, wiping her face off with a ratty cloth that was on the bed.

"Are you feeling better?" her dad asked, worry still in his eyes.

She nodded, "Yeah...fine."

* * *

Quentin didn't want to believe what he was hearing, "A-Are you kidding me? Because it isn't funny, Nancy."

"No I'm not fucking kidding, Quentin! Her dad is the psycho that used to work at Badham Preschool while we were there!" Nancy cried, "And now he's coming after us! Katherine's killing the baseball team out of revenge I'm sure!"

He shook his head, tears in his eyes, "How can you even say that?"

She sighed, "Because it's the _truth_!"

"I don't believe you. Why would you even make something like that up, Nancy? I thought you cared about Kathy?" Quentin said, taking a step back.

"Quentin," Nancy looked at him, tears now in her eyes as well, "something's really wrong with this."

He sniffed, "But you don't have to go and lie about something like that. Freddy's Kathy's dad, sure I'll believe that bit...but her killing off the baseball team for revenge? No. That's not Kathy." Quentin turned and left the house, getting into his car and driving away, leaving Nancy in her room, shocked that he wouldn't believe her.

When Quentin got home, he didn't go inside, because he didn't want to deal with his parents. Instead, he went to the back yard and took off his shoes, sticking his pale feet in the pool. He sat there for what felt like hours, and in no time, his eyes closed involuntarily.

**AN: OK I'm sorry for taking so long and I'm sorry this chapter's short but it makes way for a very juicy chapter six I promise you! Please review and tell me what you think! ALSO! For those of you who love this story I'm writing a new one titled _Love Like a Rose_, it's going to be Rated M so you're forewarned, and the first chapter will be out soon! Thanks to you all!**


	6. The Strongest Power of All

Quentin awoke to find himself not in his yard, but in someone else's, his feet no longer in the comforting water of his pool, but lying on grass. He sat up, looking around the area: it was Elm Street, but several years ago, he saw a man and a little girl, around five years old, sitting at a patio table playing Chutes and Ladders. Quentin stepped forward, his eyes growing wide in amazement when he recognized the pair: the man was Freddy, and that meant that the little girl had to be Katherine. He walked closer, seeing the two of them laughing and smiling made him feel like this was how her life should've been before she was killed.

"Daddy you're cheating!" the little Katherine squealed.

Freddy laughed, "How am I cheating, sweetheart?"

She took his piece, "Five spaces puts you here," she put the piece at the bottom of one of the chutes.

He chuckled, "Now I think you're cheating you little stinker!" he got up and walked around the table, beginning to tickle her.

"Daddy, no!" she laughed hysterically.

"Mr. Krueger."

Freddy, Katherine, and Quentin looked to see a man and a woman, both dressed in business attire, standing at the gate entrance to the backyard of the Krueger residence.

He stood, "Can I help you?"

The woman nodded, "My name is Doreen Greystone, this is my associate Mr. Derek Reeves."

Reeves held out his hand, "Mr. Krueger."

Freddy however, did not shake his hand, "What's this about?"

Greystone continued, "We're from the County Board of Child Care, we're here about Katherine."

"What about my daughter?" Freddy growled, obviously angry and annoyed that they were here.

"May we speak with you? Alone?" the woman asked, her green eyes looking kindly at the five-year-old Katherine who stood looking at the two strangers, scared and confused.

Freddy sighed, kneeling down to look at his daughter, "Kathy, honey, why don't you go upstairs for a little bit OK? Daddy needs to talk to the nice man and lady."

Katherine knew that something was wrong, she could see it in her dad's eyes, but she kept quiet, kissing his cheek and running in the house.

Part of Quentin wanted to go in and follow Katherine, but the other part, the part that won over, stayed and listened to the conversation.

"What's this about?" Quentin could hear in Freddy's tone of voice he was annoyed.

Reeves sighed, pushing his tortise shell-rimmed glasses further up the bridge of his nose, "Due to the accusations against you, both from the parents of the Badham Preschool children and the judge covering the case of your wife's murder, the Board has asked us to put Katherine in the full custody of her aunt and uncle."

Freddy looked at them, his eyes burning in anger, "No, you can't take her away from me."

"Mr. Krueger I'm afraid we have no choice," Greystone added, "now please don't make this any harder than it has to be."

He gasped for words, "The accusations are false! I would never hurt Kathy or my wife, _or_ those kids! Please don't take her she's all I have left!"

"Mr. Krueger, if Katherine is not ready to leave in ten minutes I will arrest you for failure to comply with State law and I assure you, you will never see your daughter again." Reeves snapped, obviously getting adgitated.

The man wanted to argue, he wanted to scream, he wanted to hit them both over the heads with sledgehammers, but his shoulders slumped over and he trudged inside, Quentin following him up the stairs and down the hall to the last room: Katherine's room. The young girl was sitting on her bed, her piercing eyes were wet and her gaze was angry, she knew. Quentin, for as long as he'd known her, knew Katherine was very smart and very clever. She could understand what was going on in a situation before you even explained what happened. She must've always been like that because even at five, she knew what was happening.

Freddy sat down next to the girl, "Sweetheart, the man and lady downstairs are gonna take you to live with Aunt Lily and Uncle Harvey for a while."

Katherine looked at him, "Why? Why can't I stay here with you?"

The man sighed, "Because right now they don't think you're safe with daddy."

her small eyes looked at him, "But I am safe with you! I don't like it there, let me stay here. I don't wanna go," she whispered sadly.

He nodded, hugging her close, "I know sweetheart, but I'll see you soon, I promise."

She shook her head, burying her face in his chest, "No! I'm not going!"

Freddy felt his heart breaking, "I don't want you to, but if you don't they won't let daddy see you anymore."

"Mr. Krueger," Greystone spoke from the doorway, Reeves behind her, "it's time."

He stood, picking up his daughter in his arms, "Please don't do this."

The woman sighed, gesturing for Reeves to take Katherine down to the car; the man took Katherine in his arms, walking back down the hall, her birght blue eyes stared at her dad for as long as she could, "I wish there was something else I could do," she actually felt a little sorry for the man; his daughter was the only thing he had left, but then again, who was to say he didn't deserve her being taken away? He supposedly killed his wife and molested the children at the Badham Preschool, why shouldn't he have his daughter taken from him?

Reeves walked down to the car, putting Katherine down for a second to open the car door. In that second, Katherine saw her dad standing in the front door and she ran like a bat out of Hell. She sprinted back up the brick pathway and flung her arms around him, "Don't make me go! I wanna stay here!"

Freddy hugged his daughter tightly, fighting back tears and smoothing her curls back, "It'll be OK, honey."

Greystone knelt down, "C'mon sweetheart," she pulled Katherine away from her dad.

Now, Quentin didn't know Katherine when she was younger, but he knew her when she was older, and she never, not once threw a fit. Katherine had actually never thrown a fit in her life, except for that moment when Greystone tried to take her away from Freddy.

"NO! DADDY! DADDY!" her small limbs flung around, almost hitting Greystone in the face as she thrashed about, her high-pitched screams and cries made it look like the two were kidnapping her.

Reeves helped his associate wrestle Katherine into the carseat, "C'mon Katherine!"

She screamed, tugging on his tie, "DADDY!"

The man gagged, "She's chok-choking me!"

"Katherine let go!" Greystone pulled her hand off of the tie and shut the door, Katherine's hands banging on the door window, still screaming, and she didn't stop, even when she got to her aunt and uncle's she didn't stop.

Freddy stood on the front step, his heart finally shattering. Quentin watched the man beside him slump onto the step, burying his head in his arms as he sobbed furiously, tears pouring down his face, "Kathy-y-y-y..."

At that moment Quentin woke up; he couldn't believe everything he'd just seen. Now he understood why Kathy was so closed off from everyone, it wasn't just because of her past, it was because of what she was trying to hide. She had amazing self-control, but he noticed if someone brought up her dad her entire body stiffened and her attitude changed. He didn't want to know what would've happened if someone had pushed it too far. His phone rang, there were four missed calls from his house, and five unanswered texts from Nancy.

_Quentin I'm sorry, please call me._

_Quentin I didn't mean to offend you I know how close you and Kathy were. Please call me._

_Quentin? Quentin are you OK?_

_QUENTIN! I JUST SAW WHAT HAPPENED TO KATHY AS A LITTLE GIRL! CALL ME!_

He dialed Nancy's number and placed the phone against his ear, "Nancy?"

"_Quentin! I just saw_,"

"I know I saw it, too," he stated solemnly, heading inside his house, "I don't understand how something like that could've happened to her and she never told us."

"_Wh-What do you think it means_?" Nancy asked, her voice breaking.

Quentin sighed, entering his house quietly and walking up the stairs to his room, "Honestly? I have no clue."

* * *

Katherine sat on the edge of the destroyed mattress, tears in her eyes: Quentin and Nancy had both seen her past, the worst part of her past. She hated what had happened that day, it was the day that had made her life a living Hell. Sure, she could've handled the rumors about her dad, yeah she could've handled being ignored by the parents of the other kids, but being taken away from her dad altogether? No. That made her snap. She sighed, running her fingers through her hair, waiting for her dad to get back from another excursion; she was waiting for him to tell her how to get into the dreams of an adult. He'd never tried before, but he knew how, and she needed to learn before she could deal with her aunt and uncle.

Freddy appeared in the room moments later, his blades coated in ruby red liquid, "What's wrong?" he saw the tears in her eyes and tensed, ready to head right back out the door.

She shook her head, "Nothing I can't handle. So...how do I deal with Lillian and Harvey?"

He sighed, "Getting into the dreams of an adult is hard, really hard...but you're a smart kid, you should be able to do it," he smiled, sitting next to her and putting his arm around her shoulders, "what's wrong, hun?"

Katherine looked at him, "I...I was thinking about the day those two assholes from the Child Board took me away from you."

Freddy stiffened, "What about it?"

"I, I don't know how, but Quentin and Nancy must've both fallen asleep...and they saw it. They saw what happened."

His piercing eyes looked at her, "That's interesting," he hugged her, "it's nothing to worry about. There's nothing they can do."

She sighed, hugging him back, "That day haunted me for years...I kept thinking that I could always run back to you, but I was too scared of Harvey to do so. I was too scared of what he could do to you; and look what happened, they still got to you," she felt more tears roll down her cheeks to stain his tattered sweater.

Freddy pet her curls softly, "I know, Kathy...I know."

Katherine looked at him, "But tonight they're gonna pay. This is gonna end once and for all," she stood, putting her hat on her head and wiping her eyes once more, "they are gonna regret everything they've done."

He nodded, hugging her one more time before she disappeared from the room, and to his surprise, entering the dreams of Harvey and Lillian Killmen with ease. Anger, it seemed, was the strongest power of all.

**AN: Sorry this took so long, the beginning I wanted to be perfect so I spent days writing and rewriting :) Let me know what you think!**


	7. You Did This To Me

Katherine grinned with an evil happiness as she entered her aunt and uncle's dreams, both of them looking around in shock at what was happening.

Lillian's face, stricken with fear, made Katherine's heart swell with pride, "W-What's going on?"

Harvey looked angry, unsure of what he was dreaming of, "A boiler room!"

The young woman glared at him, taking her knife out of her boot and dragging it along the pipes, making the hallway fill with the shrill sound.

"AH!" Harvey covered his ears as his eyes clenched shut, giving Katherine the opporitunity to grab Lillian by her hair, yanking her down to the ground before slitting her wrists and beginning to choke her.

"Die, bitch," Katherine growled through gritted teeth as Lillian gave one last choke of breath before falling limp.

Harvey watched in horror, "LILLIAN! Oh my-oh my God what have you done?"

Katherine stood, keeping the hat tilted low over her face, "One, two guess who's comin' for you," she sang low and ominously.

He looked at her in shock, "It-It can't be! Yo-You're dead!"

She glared at him, her hat blocking his view of her anger-filled eyes, "You made my life Hell from the very moment I set foot in your house. And you ruined my life, you helped kill him."

"Kill who?" he questioned, mortified at what was happening.

"You helped kill my dad!" she growled angrily.

Harvey laughed, "That monster deserved it! He killed your mother and God only knows what he did to you!"

"NOT A DAMN THING!" she yelled, throwing her knife at him, the blade landing in his chest. Katherine watched him crumple to the ground, striding over before pressing a boot-clad foot onto his stomach, leering over him angrily, "My dad never, _never_, touched me or my mother. She was killed by someone else. But you...you murdered my dad in cold blood. And you deserve what you're about to get," she pulled her knife from his chest slowly, causing him more pain, before sliding the blade torturously slow across his chest four times, "hope you like Hell, fire seems to be something you enjoy," she slashed his throat, blood staining her hands, face, and shirt. After she was sure they were both dead, Katherine stood, walking out of their dreams and back into the small room, a satisfied look in her eye but something was wrong; something was missing.

Freddy looked at her, "What is it, sweetheart?"

Her piercing eyes looked at him, "They're dead."

"But?"

"Something's missing. I don't feel like it's over."

He stood, walking over to her, "There are still two people out there who had a hand in this."

Katherine froze: Quentin and Nancy. Her heart was torn in two, for this was making her choose between her dad and her friends, but it was a decision that she would have to make eventually. "Gimme an a hour or two," she turned and walked back out of the room.

Freddy sighed, "I was hoping I never had to show you this, but you leave me no choice, Kathy," he focused hard on a memory, a memory that had haunted him for twelve years, the memory that had been the beginning of all of his anger and pain: the day he was murdered.

* * *

Katherine was unsure of where she was, her eyes processing it as an abandoned factory. The cold wind blew against her skin, her ears pricking up at the sound of running feet and rolling tires. She turned to see a man running down the dirt road, several cars chasing him; her eyes growing wide when she recognized the man as her father, but something else caught her eye: Quentin was seeing this too. His eyes locked on her, "Kathy?"

She turned, running after her dad and the cars, finding they had cornered him into an abandoned room in the factory. He shut the door, Katherine walking through it as if it were never there. She could hear the people getting out of their cars, "Krueger! Come out here you sick bastard!"

Her dad was mortified, his face filled with fear, "What do you think I did? I didn't do anything!"

Katherine heard a familiar voice, "We shouldn't be doing this, Harvey." Her blue eyes glowed angrily; her aunt and uncle were among these people.

She could hear the open and close of a trunk, then silence as she watched her dad search for a way out. Suddenly, there was a crash, and a flaming canteen of gasoline smashed through the window, landing on the floor and setting everything ablaze. Katherine could see the terror in her dad's eyes, watching the flames grow closer, until finally they reached his feet. His agonized screams filled her ears, tearing off his coat to reveal the red and green Christmas sweater she knew so well, her eyes filling to the brim with tears. She watched helplessly as her dad was burned alive, the room then exploding, causing Katherine to rush back into the room, slamming the door behind her and bursting into sobs, "Oh God! Oh-oh-oh God!" she covered her mouth with her hands, tears pouring down her face.

Freddy rushed over to her, throwing his arms around her, "Ssssh, I'm here."

Katherine clung to him, his sweater smelling of the smoke from the factory,"I-I saw..." she sobbed, words unable to be spoken.

He nodded, "I know, sweetheart. I know," he hugged her close, smoothing her curls back as she choked out sobs of anger and sadness.

* * *

Quentin had seen everything: how his dad and other parents, including Katherine's aunt and uncle, had burned Krueger alive, he'd seen Katherine, standing on the side of the road, watching as he did. It was a shock to him, how he could see her and she could see him, as real as Freddy's nightmares themselves. He and Nancy had only one option to stop it: drag Krueger into the real world and kill him once and for all. They'd found Badham Preschool, and were now sitting in the room that he'd claimed never existed, that he claimed never to have created to torture the students. Everything he'd said, everything Katherine knew, was a lie. He wasn't after them because they'd lied about what he'd done, he was after them because they'd told the truth.

Nancy sat on the bed with Quentin, shaking out of fear. She was going to have to drag Freddy out of her dreams, and it wasn't going to be easy, especially with Katherine. She sighed, "Wake me if you see me struggle."

He nodded, looking into her chocolate brown eyes, his lips pressing against hers slowly, "I'll be here," he watched as she laid back against the bed, her eyes closing before she drifted off to sleep. Quentin saw a paper cutting machine, breaking off the blade he sat in the corner of the room, watching her.

* * *

Katherine stared in anger; her heart breaking at the sight she'd just witnessed. They'd kissed; her two best friends had kissed. She thought Quentin had loved her, she thought that they were going to get away from Springwood, but it seemed all of that was bullshit. She was undead, and he was off hooking up with Nancy. Katherine growled, looking at her dad just as Quentin fell asleep, "I want him."

Freddy nodded, "You can have him," he walked off, searching for Nancy.

The young woman stalked the halls of the boiler room, her eyes darting around, looking for Quentin. He would pay; he would pay for what he'd done, and so would Nancy. She pulled her knife from her boot, stalking up behind him and grabbing him by his hair, slamming him against the pipes, "I'm not even dead two weeks and you're already sucking face with your other best friend? What was I to you, Quentin? Huh!"

He looked at her in horror, "Katherine! I-It's not what you'd think!"

"BULLSHIT!" she threw him to the ground, stomping her foot on his chest, "You think you can save her from my dad? Well you're wrong! And you're not gonna survive this, either!"

Quentin looked into her eyes, "Everything you dad's told you is a lie!"

Katherine stopped, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"He killed your mom, he molested the preschool students, he did everything he was accused of! He's been lying to you!"

She shook her head, "Nice try."

Quentin sighed, "You don't believe me? Wake me up and I'll show you!"

Katherine glared at him, decking him in the face and causing him to wake up, pulling her out of his dream and into the room, "This is the room your dad said never existed, and look at these," he tossed pictures of Nancy when she was five at Katherine, the disgusting pictures _her_ dad had taken, "he's been lying to you all along."

The young woman stared at the pictures in horror and disbelief, her hand flying to her mouth as her head shook 'no' fervently, "This isn't happening. This isn't happening."

"It is happening, Kathy, face it. You're dad is a disgusting, child molesting, murderer," Quentin spat, just as Nancy woke up, pulling Freddy with her.

Katherine looked at him, tears of anger and despair in her eyes, "YOU LIED TO ME!"

Freddy looked at her, "Katherine what are you talking about?"

She threw the pictures at him, "YOU LIED ABOUT EVERYTHING! YOU SAID THAT YOU NEVER HURT THE PRESCHOOL KIDS! YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T KILL MOM! YOU _LIED_ TO ME! WHY WOULD YOU LIE TO ME?" she screamed, her tears rolling down her cheeks.

He took a step forward, "Kathy I didn't..."

"LOOK AROUND! DOES THIS ROOM LOOK LIKE IT'S A NORMAL ENVIRONMENT? YOU MOLESTED ALL OF THOSE KIDS! WHAT'D YOU DO TO ME?" she demanded, wanting to know if that was a lie too.

Quentin looked through another set of pictures, his eyes growing wide, "Kathy."

She turned to him, seeing the pictures in his hands, "Let me see."

Freddy growled at him, "Put those back you little punk!"

"LET ME SEE!" Katherine yelled, grabbing the pictures from Quentin's hands, her stomach churning at the sight of them: there were pictures of her as a young girl, around five years old, disgusting photographs of her and her dad...something she would've never believed. Her piercing eyes looked at him, "You...you molested me, too?" her eyes now burned with fury and disgust, "YOU DID THIS TO ME TOO?" she pulled her knife out, "YOU BASTARD!"

He grabbed her wrists, "KATHY STOP!"

She pushed him against the wall, stabbing him in the chest over and over, "YOU! DID! THIS! TO! ME!"

Nancy took the paper cutting blade from Quentin and held it up, "KATHY!"

The young woman turned to her quickly, a mistake on her part. Freddy shoved his blades right into her chest, causing Katherine to scream out in pain, looking at him in shock, "D-Dad..." he pulled them out, watching his daughter crumple to the floor, dead.

His piercing eyes glared at them, "You made me kill my own daughter."

Nancy growled, "You did that a long time ago!"

Freddy took a step forward, Quentin shoving a piece of glass into his leg, making the man to scream in pain.

"Hurts huh?" Nancy gloated, "Welcome to my world, bitch!" she swung the blade across his neck, Freddy falling to the ground beside Katherine; father and daughter dead once more.

Quentin took a box of matches, setting the entire place on fire, "C'mon, Nancy," the two of them ran out of the preschool building, finding Fire Department, First Aid, and Police surrounding the area as the school burst into flames, no one but the two teenagers knowing who's bodies lay inside. As they rode home in the radio car, Quentin took her hand, "It's over."

Nancy nodded, looking out the window, a set of piercing blue eyes staring back at her, "_I'll be back, Nancy_."

**END**

**AN: So that's it! Hope you liked it! Please review and tell me what you think!**


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